Trend Micro Study Reveals Spyware Encounters Are Increasing at Work

Trend Micro, Inc.
(Nasdaq: TMIC; TSE: 4704), a leader in antivirus and Internet content
security, today announced key findings from a study that reveals that more
than 87 percent of corporate end users are aware of spyware, and yet 53
percent of survey respondents demand greater education from IT to better
understand the threat. The findings indicate that awareness does not translate
to knowledge, and as a result users are looking to their IT departments to
play a more protective role.
The study, which involved 1,200 end users from organizations ranging from
large multi-national corporations to small single-office businesses, was
conducted in the United States, Germany, and Japan. It revealed several
findings pertaining to end-user perceptions and behavior in the workplace, and
many involved the growing problem of spyware. According to the study,
encounters with spyware are growing, especially in small- and medium-sized
businesses.
Results revealed that spyware's prominence appears to be greatest in the
United States, where 40 percent of end users surveyed have encountered spyware
at work, as compared to 14 percent in Japan and 23 percent in Germany. In all
three countries, end users from SMB organizations reported a greater number of
encounters than larger enterprises.
Similarly, U.S. end users are five times more likely to fall victim than
their German and Japanese counterparts. For businesses with IT organizations,
nearly 40 percent of respondents in the United States felt their IT
departments could do more to help protect them against spyware. The U.S.
findings support the fact that spyware poses a significant threat globally.
For example, in Japan, corporate end users believe that their spyware
protection is insufficient, with two out of three small- and medium-sized
business workers and one out of two enterprise workers identifying this
concern.
However, of those respondents who encounter spyware at work, only 45
percent believed they had actually fallen victim. This reveals a striking
distinction between end-user awareness of the spyware threat and whether
corporate end users are knowledgeable enough to identify spyware infiltration,
which quite often occurs without end users knowing it.
Because of the broad awareness and relative lack of knowledge, many
respondents expect IT departments to provide further education in addition to
protection. This was especially the case in Japan, where 64 percent felt that
their IT departments could do more to educate them about spyware. Similar
figures resulted in the United States (52%) and Germany (45%).
In the midst of this call for education, one of the most troubling
findings was the admission from many respondents that they are more likely to
engage in risky online behavior if they have an IT department for support.
"The challenge of maintaining security for businesses is compounded by the
tendency of end users to engage in riskier computer activities while at work,"
said Ed English, Trend Micro vice president and chief technologist, anti-
spyware. "Spyware is a security issue that has now come of age, and while end
users may question the effectiveness of anti-spyware solutions deployed by
their IT departments, they also admit to relying heavily on IT for protection
-- and many appear willing to ignore their personal responsibility of staying
aware and protected through sensible online behavior."
Given the growing complexity of corporate security needs and the evolving
security landscape, English added that companies need multi-layered security
strategies, with antivirus and content security that protects the corporate
computing environment from spyware and other "blended" threats. This layered
defense -- from gateways and servers to desktops and mobile devices - can
thwart threats from outside a business' borders as well as those resulting
from bolder behavioral tendencies within the organization. Even if users do
behave in a bolder manner online, a multi-layered strategy provides multiple
lines of defense, helping to protect sensitive data and control any impact to
bandwidth and productivity.
"With the growing threat of spyware, IT needs to ensure that its users
have a thorough education on how to protect themselves while ensuring their
organizations are protected by proven, reliable, and responsive anti-spyware
solutions," English said. "That education should serve as an enabler of more
protection among end users, not just IT."
Other noteworthy findings involving spyware include:

* Viruses and Spyware are perceived as being more serious threats to
corporate security than spam.
* 26% American SMB workers, and 21% American enterprise workers stated
that they had fallen victim to spyware while at work.
* Only 7 percent of SMB workers surveyed in Japan and Germany were
aware of falling victim to spyware, highlighting the contrasting
relationship between awareness of the problem and knowledge of its
presence or impact.
* Among U.S. based respondents, the top five consequences of being
victimized by spyware were lower computer performance, loss of
productivity, loss of connection bandwidth, malicious downloads, and
violation of privacy.

Survey Methodology:
The survey was conducted online in July 2005. More than 1,200 corporate
end users from business organizations in the United States, Germany, and Japan
responded to the survey.

About Trend Micro, Inc.
Trend Micro, Inc. is a leader in network antivirus and Internet content
security software and services. The Tokyo-based corporation has business units
worldwide. Trend Micro products are sold through corporate and value-added
resellers and managed service providers. For additional information and
evaluation copies of all Trend Micro products, visit our Web site,
http://www.trendmicro.com

NOTE: Trend Micro, and the t-ball logo, are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Trend Micro Incorporated. All other company or product names may
be trademarks or registered trademarks of their owners.

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